Marx on Religion

Resumen del libro

Few people would ever expect that Karl Marx is the writer of the above statement. He not only wrote it, but he did so in the same breath of his more famous dictum that "religion is the opiate of the masses." How can one reconcile such different perspectives on the power and ubiquity of religion? In this compact reader of Marx's essential thought on religion, John Raines offers the full range of Marx's thoughts on religion and its relationship to the world of social relations. Through a careful selection of essays, articles, pamphlets, and letters, Raines shows that Marx had a far more complex understanding of religious belief. Equally important is how Marx's ideas on religion were intimately tied to his inquiries into political economy, revolution, social change, and the philosophical questions of the self. Raines offers an introduction that shows the continuing importance of the Marxist perspective on religion and its implications for the way religion continues to act in and respond to the momentous changes going on in our social and environmental worlds.
Marx on Religion also includes a study guide to help professors and students--as well as the general reader--continue to understand the significance of this often under-examined component of Marx. Author note: John Raines is Professor of Religion at Temple University. He is the author of over a half-dozen books, including, most recently, What Men Owe to Women: Men's Voices from World Religions.

Biografía del autor

(Tréveris, Prusia, 1818 - Londres, 1883) es considerado el autor clásico más influyente en ciencias sociales. Trabajó como periodista en su juventud y participó en la fundación de la Liga de los Comunistas desde donde publicó, junto con Engels, el x{0026}lt;i Manifiesto del partido comunistax{0026}lt;/i en 1848. A comienzos de la década de 1850 se instaló en Londres y profundizó en las investigaciones que llevarían a la publicación de x{0026}lt;i El capitalx{0026}lt;/i en 1867. En 1864 contribuyó en la organización de la Asociación Internacional de los Trabajadores (Primera Internacional) hasta la derrota de la Comuna de París en 1871.